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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2011 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Red-legged Partridge Alectoris rufa	NT	resident (1995)	10,000–15,000 pairs	B2
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	LC	winter (2009)	15–30 birds	C6
Black-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles orientalis	LC	resident (2009)	3–6 pairs	C6
Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax	NT	resident (2010)	600–1,000 birds	A1, B2, C1, C6
Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus	LC	resident (2009)	600–1,500 pairs	A4i, B1i, B2, C2, C6
Short-toed Snake-eagle Circaetus gallicus	LC	breeding (2006)	9–13 pairs	C6
Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata	LC	non-breeding (2006)	3–10 birds	C2
Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus	LC	breeding (2010)	15–30 pairs	C6
European Bee-eater Merops apiaster	LC	breeding (1995)	850 pairs	B2
European Roller Coracias garrulus	LC	breeding (2006)	85–105 pairs	A1, B2, C1, C2, C6
Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra	LC	resident (2006)	2,800–7,700 pairs	C2

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2011. The most recent assessment (2008) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Transportation and service corridors	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of area covered (10–49%)	Not assessed	Not assessed	very low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1992	Valls de Sió-Llobregós	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	14
1992	Plans de Sió	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	8
1992	Serra Llarga-Secans de la Noguera	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	6
1992	Secans de Belianes-Preixana	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	5
1992	Granyena	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	4
1992	Vall la Vinaixa	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (V)	2
1992	Vessants de la Noguera Ribagorçana	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (V)	1
1992	Plans de la Unilla	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	1
1992	Bessons, els	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (V)	<1
2010	Anglesola-Vilagrassa	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	1
2013	Bellmunt-Almenara	Plan Especial de Protección (PEIN) (VI)	3

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	85	Arable land; Perennial crops, orchards and groves; Other urban and industrial areas
Forest	10	Broadleaved deciduous woodland; Native coniferous woodland; Mixed woodland; Alluvial and very wet forest; Broadleaved evergreen woodland
Grassland	5	Steppes and dry calcareous grassland
Shrubland	5	Sclerophyllous scrub, garrigue and maquis
Wetlands (inland)	1	Rivers and streams; Water fringe vegetation

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	100
agriculture	90
forestry	10

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Lerida steppes (Spain). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/lerida-steppes-iba-spain on 24/12/2024.